The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has been summoned on Tuesday by the House of Representatives, over the outbreak of monkeypox in the country.

The House took the decision in Abuja just as the National Centre for Disease Control confirmed that 31 cases of the disease had been recorded in the country.

The National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, had disclosed that monkeypox cases had been reported in seven states.

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The states are Bayelsa, Rivers, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, River and Lagos.

At its plenary in Abuja, presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, the House was alarmed that the disease was spreading while it appeared that the Federal Ministry of Health was helpless without relying on the World Health Organisation.

A lawmaker from Bayelsa State, Mr. Diri Douye, raised the issue under matters of urgent national importance, praying that the minister should be summoned.

The prayer was immediately passed in a unanimous voice vote.

Lawmakers expressed concern that a country, as big as Nigeria, did not have a laboratory to respond to the health emergency without first sending specimen to Dakar, Senegal, for investigations.

They were also in shock that Adewole admitted that Nigeria was helpless.

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“The House is concerned by the shocking admission of Adewole that monkeypox could not be confirmed in Nigeria until laboratory investigations by WHO and referral to Dakar, Senegal.

“Again, concerned that the disease has spread to other states, notably Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, in spite of concerted efforts by the Bayelsa State Government since the initial report in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State,” the House motion read partly.

The minster is to explain the actions taken so far by the Federal Government to contain the spread of the disease.

The resolution stated, “The House invites the minister of health to explain the alarming situation of how a country, as vast and resourced as Nigeria, will depend on a laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, to analyse samples at such a critical time of national health crisis.

“To explain what measures and strategies the country has in place to be more proactive in the active surveillance and rapid case detection of cases for the prevention and containment of monkeypox as well as other viruses in future.”

The House commended the Bayelsa State Government for its “quick intervention and collaborative efforts” so far.

Also, the Senate urged the Federal Government to liaise with WHO and other donor agencies as Nigeria continued the fight against monkeypox.

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This was part of the prayers of a motion moved by Senator Ali Wakili (Bauchi South), which the Senate adopted at the plenary on Tuesday.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly also urged the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Health, state and local governments, to be proactive in containing and preventing the disease from spreading beyond where it had been reported.

The lawmakers also called for aggressive enlightenment and education of the citizens on measures that could be taken to mitigate risk factors of exposure to the virus, while seeking a sustained public health education messages through media platforms.

Wakili, while moving the motion, said the Senate was worried that “there are no specific treatment in the provision or availability of vaccine for monkeypox infection and that Nigerians have been thrown into panic as the country’s health sector is facing a myriad of challenges.”

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, in a remark, thanked Wakili for the motion and its prayers.